


the way she shows me i'm hers and she is mine

by orphan_account



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Soulmates AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-03-18
Packaged: 2018-03-18 10:52:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3566966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke is so focused on surviving when she gets to the Ground, that the thought that she might find her soulmate doesn't even cross her mind. It’s not a priority in this day and age—she can’t let it be a priority.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the way she shows me i'm hers and she is mine

**Author's Note:**

> ok this is my first time writing for this fandom so if this is shit honestly let me know?? hopefully it's not super ooc or anything. anyway if you didn't get the gist of this in the summary, this is based on that soulmates au where everything is black and white until you meet your soulmate, and when your soulmate dies everything goes back to black and white. and i tried to read this over and edit it where needed but it's 2am and i'm tired so any mistakes are my own.
> 
> title is from cherry wine by hozier.

In the world following the nuclear war, it’s become rare to find your soulmate. Everyone has grown used to living in black and white and the shades of gray in between. On the Ark, there are less than three thousand people; if you fail to meet your soulmate when you’re young, there isn’t much of a chance you’ll find them when you’re an adult. Most people have grown to accept that they’ll just have to settle for someone they weren’t meant for, while some people claim it’s just a myth considering how rarely it actually occurs.

Clarke is so focused on _surviving_ when she gets to the Ground, that the thought that she might find her soulmate doesn't even cross her mind. It’s not a priority in this day and age—she can’t let it be a priority.

That only makes it all the more surprising when she does find her soulmate.

\--

The last thing Clarke expects when she goes to make peace with the Grounder Commander is to see her soulmate for the first time.

Clarke watches Lexa’s mouth fall agape just the slightest as the world goes from black and white to color in the blink of an eye, just like it did for herself a moment before. The Commander collects herself before anyone else seems to notice, though, the same stoic mask from before quickly returning.

Despite their tie to each other, Lexa doesn’t have any sympathy for Clarke and the truce doesn’t come easily. They’re seconds away from killing each other before her mom is able to restart Lincoln’s heart, and if that wasn’t enough, the last thing Lexa demands before they can officially become allies is Finn’s life.

It seems being soulmates does little to soften what Clarke thinks is the Commander’s cold heart. She still manages to show more mercy than any of the other Grounders, though, in the fact that she does nothing to Clarke for saving Finn from the torturous death that the Grounders would give him.

To Clarke, it doesn’t seem like much. To Clarke, she thinks this is a cruel joke from God. She doesn’t know how she’s supposed to spend the rest of her life with the person who is indirectly at fault for Finn’s death. She doesn’t know how this person is expected to bring her all the comfort and happiness she can need in someone, when in their first meeting all she brought her was pain.

She’s not one to throw the blame at others, though. Despite Lexa being the one to order Finn’s death, Clarke is the one who thrust the knife in his chest, and she has to live with herself. She would laugh at the irony of it all if it didn’t hurt so much.

\--

The more time they spend together, the more Clarke begrudgingly realizes how perfectly they fit together. She wouldn’t say they’re opposites—there’s definitely some obvious common ground between them—but they’re not the same either.

It doesn’t take long for Clarke to realize that Lexa didn’t want to have Finn killed, but it was what had to be done—there had to be justice. She knows when she watches Lexa plunge a knife through Gustus’s chest that it was never a matter of ‘who’ with the Grounders, it was a matter of what was right. For the Grounders, there is no pardoning like Chancellor Jaha had done for her mother on more than one occasion. There is only justice.

Clarke hasn’t told anyone yet, she hasn’t even discussed it with the other girl, but she is slowly warming up to the idea of having Lexa as her soulmate. Watching how strong of a leader she is, but also catching glimpses of compassion from time to time, is helping Clarke understand that Lexa wasn’t just born to be the _Heda_ , but also to have Clarke by her side.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Lexa. Besides the brief moment after the burning of Finn and the Grounders he slaughtered, Lexa hasn’t opened up much to Clarke. They’re rarely alone, save for the times that they’re forced to, like when all their guards had been killed by a _giant_ fucking gorilla, and they were left to fend for themselves.

Clarke is lucky to catch the things she does that help her learn who Lexa is as a person, but it’s starting to get harder. Naturally, Clarke can’t help but want to be close to her soulmate. The more she comes to accept that they’re meant for each other, the more she wants to be with Lexa. However, the more she tries to make the relationship between the two anything more than allies, the more Lexa pushes her even further away.

It’s disheartening, to say the least. In a world where it’s so rare to find your soulmate, Clarke would have thought that Lexa would be happy about it. They have their differences; Clarke is of the Sky People, and Lexa is a Grounder, and they technically shouldn’t work. It took time for Clarke to accept it herself, but she has, so why can’t Lexa?

\--

Clarke grabs Lexa by the wrist one day after another meeting with her advisors, stopping her from rushing off like she’s done in the past. In a low voice, Clarke says, “We’re soulmates, and I think it’s time we at least acknowledge that, don’t you?” Despite how soft it is, Lexa can hear the pain in her voice.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Lexa says through gritted teeth, ripping her arm out of Clarke’s grasp.

“Yes, you do. I know you started seeing color when you saw me. I could see it on your face.”

“It must have been someone else in the tent. I’m sorry,” Lexa says with a sense of finality, but Clarke can tell the apology is sincere. She doesn’t want to hurt Clarke, but she’s not willing to give her what she needs either.

Knowing it’s no use to keep her there, Clarke lets her go. She knows it will only cause tension between her people and the Grounders if she’s caught harassing the Commander. There alliance is still rocky, and the last thing she needs is any more hostility between their people.

It doesn’t mean she’s settling for a lie, though. If Clarke had a say in who her soulmate was, she would have chosen an easier relationship in a heartbeat, or maybe she would have settled for not having one at all. Unfortunately that’s not the case, and in a world where soulmates are so rare to begin with, Clarke isn’t about to let hers slip right through her fingertips. But Clarke knows sometimes you must concede a battle to win the war.

\--

On the way to Tondc, they both bring an even amount of guards who surround them throughout their journey. They’re traveling by horseback and Clarke can tell how uncomfortable Lexa is to be this close to Clarke for more than a few hours. The formation is tight, but Lexa is riding as far away from Clarke as she possibly can without knocking into the guard next to her. Her green eyes are on everything but the girl beside her. They study the sky above them, the trees around them, the dirt paths ahead of them, but never the girl next to her.

“Enjoying the view? Everything’s a lot different in color,” Clarke quips, finally earning the Grounder’s attention in the form of a glare. It doesn’t help the tension in the air, but at this point teasing the Commander is better than sitting in an uptight silence with her.

“I was looking out for scouts,” Lexa says, with a roll of her eyes and a bite in her voice.

“Isn’t that what they’re for?” Clarke asks, motioning to the guards around them. Clarke can’t help but smirk, enjoying the rise she’s getting out of the ever emotionless Commander. Clarke knows Lexa isn’t completely apathetic, but she also knows the Grounder isn’t going to share her thoughts and feelings with Clarke anytime soon. Starting petty arguments with Lexa is all she can do to let the girl know she’s there.

“You can never be too cautious,” the Commander grumbles. Her grip on the horse’s reigns tightens, and she would give anything to break from the formation, to storm ahead and be as far away as possible from Clarke. From her soulmate.

\--

“Why? Just tell me why,” Clarke pleads, cornering Lexa in her tent.

The guards have grown accustomed to the leader of the Sky People entering and leaving Lexa’s tent, although it’s almost always been for meetings in the past. They’ve grown to trust her for some reason; maybe finally understanding that Clarke needs them too much to betray them. Whatever the reason, it got her inside the Commander’s tent after dark, when the camp is quiet and they can talk alone.

“Get out,” Lexa says. She avoids Clarke’s gaze, like she’s afraid looking into her eyes might burn her own, but her voice is strong, emphasizing each word. She doesn’t need to ask what Clarke is talking about anymore. It’s all she ever brings up when they’re not busy planning a war.

“Not until you tell me why you hate me! Anybody else would be ecstatic to have found their soulmate.”

“I don’t hate you.” Lexa’s words are soft and sympathetic—the exact opposite of how her voice sounded a moment before.

“Then just explain to me, please—explain to me why you refuse to hold a conversation with me that isn’t about the Mountain Men. Why you can barely look at me most of the time, because it feels a lot like you hate me.”

Silence consumes the air around them for a moment. Lexa appears to be contemplating whether or not she should tell Clarke—her brow is furrowed, her lips pursed, like it would pain her to say it aloud. It’s already hurting her enough just to think about it again. Finally, her voice still soft, she says, “I had someone before this.”

Clarke doesn’t register Lexa’s reply right away, not having expected her to answer honestly to begin with. And then she’s sighing in relief, because, _God_ , _that’s it_? They already had this conversation at the village where they burned Finn and the Grounders he killed. She almost rolls her eyes, baffled at the fact that Lexa would avoid her own soulmate over this, but she doesn’t want Lexa to get offended and suddenly shut down on her again.

“Lexa, that’s fine. You told me about Costia, and you know I had Finn too. It’s not a big deal,” she finally says, resting her hand comfortingly on Lexa’s shoulder.

Lexa shakes her head, but makes no move to recoil from Clarke’s touch. “It’s not just that. She died.”

Clarke is still a little lost. Lexa already told her all of this. It’s not like she doesn’t understand that as well. Finn died too, and a lot more recently than Lexa’s past lover. The pain from losing him hasn’t quite mended itself yet (Clarke isn’t sure if it ever will), but she’s grown to accept the soulmate she’s been given.

Lexa notices the confused look on Clarke’s face before the blonde can say anything else. “Love is weakness,” she says, repeating the same phrase she told her when Finn died. “It hurt too much losing Costia. I know I said the pain went away, but—I don’t think I could handle losing a soulmate. It would be better if we just…stay professional.”

Realization washes over Clarke, but she’s still not accepting of Lexa’s behavior. She understands where the Grounder is coming from, of course she does, but she won’t accept that as an excuse for her behavior. Clarke had a hard time accepting the idea of Lexa being her soulmate—she was constantly up at night, questioning why fate would pair her with someone who indirectly killed the person she loved before them. Finn might not have been her soulmate, but he was the one she loved at the time, and it took time for her to accept Lexa, the one who ordered Finn’s death, as her soulmate, but she has. And she knows Lexa will too. She won’t push her for now, she knows that Lexa will come to her herself. They’re soulmates; they can’t conceivably stay away from one another no matter how much they might want to.

“Okay,” Clarke says simply.

Lexa’s brow rises in surprise, not expecting Clarke to go down without a fight, but happily accepting the answer nonetheless. “Good,” she says. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

Clarke nods, before turning to exit the tent. Lexa might think that things will be civil and professional between them from now on, but Clarke knows Lexa will come to the same realization she did the more she gets to know her. It’s only a matter of time.

\--

It happens slowly, but it happens. Lexa begins to open up, more and more with each passing day. First the hostility disappears; Lexa seems to value Clarke’s opinion more during meetings with other clans, and silence doesn’t consume the pair when they’re alone or on the road. On really good days, she spends time with Clarke outside of what is obligatory of the two leaders.

It starts with Lexa asking Clarke to accompany her on the everyday escapades, just to show she’s trying. Or sometimes Lexa asks if she can join Clarke on her own journeys or help her with her responsibilities, like rehabilitating captured reapers or training the Sky People. She shows an interest in Clarke’s everyday life that none of the other Grounders would ever spare for any of the Sky People.

Before long, Lexa realizes the difference between Costia and Clarke. Where Costia made Lexa feel younger, despite her born role as commander, Clarke makes Lexa want to be better. Lexa wouldn’t say she prefers one over the other, but in a way, Clarke brings out what Costia once did as well. She makes her open up again, and learn that it’s okay to trust her heart over her head sometimes. It doesn’t necessarily make her feel younger again, but it makes her heart flutter the way it did when Costia was alive. She doesn’t want to admit the undeniable connection between herself and Clarke, she doesn’t want to admit that there’s something there that Costia could never have given her, but she knows it’s true. Clarke and Lexa fit together like puzzle pieces. They’re different—so, so different—but they complement each other and it’s what makes them work so well.

Costia helped make Lexa into the person she was when she met Clarke, and now Clarke is making her into someone even better. It doesn’t make Lexa any less grateful for the part of her life that was spent with Costia.

\--

One afternoon they found a field, completely barren of trees with knee-high grass and an arrangement of flowers that are beginning to wither and brown due to the coming winter. It’s beautiful nonetheless, but the view of the sky is even better. Without the trees blocking out the sky like almost every other inch of the Ground, you can see everything. It’s even better now in color.

Clarke was impressed enough by the Ground when they first landed, but now she pities anyone who hasn’t found their soulmate yet. It’s a completely different experience. Since meeting Lexa, it’s like she’s landed on a whole other planet, every view is new. She didn’t think it could get any better, but she’s been pleasantly surprised now that she can experience this new world with Lexa, now that Lexa is finally finished pushing her away.

They’re lying together in the field at night—it’s reckless, given that they’re two of the most important leaders in a time of war, but it’s worth it, and Lexa makes Clarke feel safe enough to be out this late without guards. Most days Lexa still keeps her distance (Clarke is just glad she’s letting her in at all, no matter how small the steps are), but tonight they’re bundled up together in an effort to keep warm. Clarke is positive that she’s never been this close to Lexa, but she could get used to the way Lexa’s head fits perfectly in the crook of her neck.

“What do Sky People do for fun?” Lexa asks. Starring at the stars above them led to Lexa asking an arrangement of questions about what Clarke’s life on the Ark was like. By the time Lexa asks her this, they’ve already talked about the political differences between the Ark and the Ground, as well as what an average day was like—what they ate, what their responsibilities were and more.

“It depends on what you like. I drew and painted a lot to pass the time, especially when I was in solitary confinement. Before that I was still in school, and that took up some time, but for fun I would play chess or watch old recordings of things like football.”

“Football?”

Clarke smiles, because of course Lexa wouldn’t know what that is. It makes her wonder what exactly the Grounders even do for fun themselves.

“It’s a game—a competition, like when you guys spar. But they use a ball and when you score, you get points. I don’t think it’s quite as intense as when you guys spar, though. It’s hard to explain, but I think you’d like it.”

“Maybe we can play sometime.” Clark can tell just by Lexa’s voice that she’s being sincere. She’s never played herself, only watched. There was rarely ever enough room for a real game on the Ark, but the thought of doing something with Lexa that neither of them have ever done before only goes to excite her even more. She hopes it could be one of the firsts of many that they have.

\--

Clarke has just finished checking on Bellamy’s progress with Raven when Octavia comes up to her, dressed entirely in Grounder fashion. It doesn’t come as much of a shock anymore. Clarke doesn’t understand it, maybe it’s because of Lincoln or maybe there’s some other reason, but Octavia is set on becoming one of the Grounders.

To her surprise, Octavia informs her that the Commander is requesting Clarke’s presence. As far as Clarke knows, neither of them has told anyone that they’re soulmates, but it’s obvious to everyone that they’re becoming closer. They’re visibly more comfortable around each other and more and more of Clarke’s free time is being taken up by Lexa every day. With how rare soulmates have become, Clarke wouldn’t be surprised if the idea of it was overlooked, no matter how close she and Lexa become, but she can’t deny noticing the mischievous look in Octavia’s eyes. Whether she likes it or not, everyone sees the potential in the pair, the connection that they have—they just don’t realize how strong of a connection it is.

The guards let Clarke in without question, as they have been for a while now. Standing in front of the table that usually holds the map of Mount Weather and the Ground is Lexa, but instead the table is cleared of the map, and Lexa is examining something out of Clarke’s line of vision.

“You requested my presence,” Clarke says, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Lexa turns around at the sound of Clarke’s voice, still blocking whatever’s on the table from view. “I hope you’re not mocking me, Clarke. I have a gift for you.”

Clarke raises her hands as a testament of her innocence. “No, never, I was just teasing,” she says with smile, making her way closer to Lexa, hoping to be able to peak over her shoulder in order to see what’s on the table, what she assumes is her gift.

“Is there a difference?” Lexa asks, and Clarke only shrugs playfully in return.

To her disappointment, Lexa uses the slight height advantage she has over Clarke against her to keep the gift concealed. Clarke juts her bottom lip out, hoping the pout will soften the Commander, but she only rolls her eyes.

After a moment of silence, Lexa shifts a few inches, giving Clarke somewhat of a view of what’s on the table. From where she’s standing, it just looks like a few wooden bowls. Before she can voice her confusion, Lexa speaks. “I was thinking about what you said in the field the other. You liked to make art—so, there’s paint and charcoal and pastels,” she explains.

Taking a few steps forward to have a better look at what’s inside the bowls, Clarke notices the array of colors in all them then, ranging from dark blues to candy reds to olive greens. They’re obviously made from elements of the Earth, like the dark kohl that the Grounders use for warpaint, but it’ll work nonetheless.

It would be the first time she would be able to do anything artistic since being able to see color, and her stomach is already fluttering in anticipation. The idea had crossed her mind before (how could it not, when she was experiencing an entirely different world in color now—the inspiration is nearly seeping through her skin), but given the circumstances of late, she hasn’t had the time to work on anything leisurely, let alone find anything to work with besides a worn down pencil.

She can’t contain her emotions for very long, and by the time she registers it all she has her arms around Lexa’s neck, forcing the Commander into a warm embrace. Lexa can’t say she’s complaining, though, her arms naturally wrapping around Clarke’s waist after only a moment.

“This is amazing. Thank you so much,” she mumbles into Lexa’s neck, her face still buried in the crook of it, with neither having any plans to pull away from the embrace. Lexa can only smile into Clarke’s neck in return.

\--

When Clarke picks up a paintbrush again for the first time in a _long_ time, she isn’t sure she’ll ever put it down. The inspiration she pushed aside to focus on surviving comes back in full force. She can’t contain it. Somehow she always ends up outside, with Lexa usually by her side if she’s free from her duties as Commander, painting and drawing whatever is around her.

Despite Clarke’s attention being wholly committed to her artwork during these times, Lexa doesn’t feel neglected. In fact, Lexa likes just watching Clarke while she works. No matter how many times Lexa watches her paint or draw something, it continues to amaze her. Art was never important to the Grounders, most of them too busy surviving to pick up a hobby like this. It makes it difficult for her to wrap her head around how someone can make something so beautiful with just their hands and a brush. Lexa thinks she’ll always enjoy watching the paper change from a blank sheet, to something with a few abstract, unrecognizable strokes of color, to something as beautiful as the finished pieces Clarke has made so far.

The two soulmates begin spending even more time together. Lexa starts showing Clarke as much of the Ground as she possibly can without venturing too far from their camps—springs, waterfalls, fields and more that she has found during her many travels throughout her life. Once Lexa runs out of these secret treasures to share with Clarke, they begin finding new places together. Each one takes Clarke’s breath away, and the way Clarke translates these places onto a canvas each time takes Lexa’s breath away.

Unfortunately today, Lexa has been too busy with her duties to her people. None if it was especially threatening or stressful, but it was still time consuming, and the fact that many of the problems could have easily been fixed without her made it all the more frustrating.  

It’s been a long day, full of settling quarrels between villagers, or deciding on an appropriate punishment for the people whose fights she couldn’t resolve. To say the least, she’s exhausted and frustrated. All she wants is to wipe off the kohl on her face, slip out of her shoulder guard, and climb into her fur covered bed, but as soon as she walks into her tent she notices Clarke, who luckily didn’t have Grounders to take care of all day. The sky girl is sitting on the floor, with a canvas in her lap and a piece of charcoal in her hand. Not wanting to disturb her, Lexa cleans herself off and changes into some sleepwear quietly. Within a few minutes she’s by Clarke’s side, never too tired to watch Clarke make art.

The last thing she expects is to see herself on the canvas.

Clarke has drawn her father, her mother, Wells, Finn, and a plethora of other people she knew before Lexa, before she came to the Ground. Through the portraits she’s made, Lexa has been able to see a completely different side of Clarke—the side that was so much more carefree and didn’t have the weight of the world on her shoulders. The portraits and everything else Clarke has made that’s been inspired by her life on the Ark have helped bring Clarke’s life before the Ground to life right before Lexa’s eyes. Whenever Lexa realizes that Clarke is working on something she doesn’t recognize, something that is more than likely from the Ark, a burning anticipation builds up inside her. She knows that before long, she’ll get to see another part of Clarke that she hasn’t seen yet. Even though she might not admit it aloud, she looks forward to nothing more than getting to know Clarke better.

It’s why she’s so shocked to find herself on the sheet of paper. She never considered herself a part of Clarke; she always thought there were more beautiful and captivating things to draw or paint. Clarke has the whole world left to be her muse, but this time she chose Lexa.

“It’s beautiful,” Lexa says, her eyes still glued to the piece, admiring each stroke of charcoal.

The portrait is black and white, like how they used to see things. The sky girl manages to capture the intricacies of her braids, and the stoic expression Lexa so commonly wears, but not without forgetting the spark in her eyes. Lexa wonders if this is what Clarke first saw when she met her, before the world shifted to one of color in between the blink of an eye.

“It’s pretty easy when the subject is already beautiful,” her eyes finally meeting Lexa’s and the pencil coming to standstill in her hand.

All Lexa can do is roll her eyes at Clarke’s shameless flirting, any retort she might have had now stuck in her throat. It doesn’t stop a light blush from creeping up her cheeks, and she wishes she still had her warpaint on to hide it.

“Wow, I never thought I’d live to see the great _Heda_ blushing,” Lexa can hear the smirk on Clarke’s lips as she speaks.

If she thought Clarke was being genuine before, now she definitely believes that Clarke was only teasing from the start. Clarke has done it so often in the past it’s hard for Lexa to take her seriously when she does genuinely compliment her.

“Shut up,” she grumbles. The redness of her cheeks only seems to darken, despite her attempt at appearing threatening.

Clarke doesn’t fail to notice Lexa’s worsening blush, and struggles to hold back a laugh because of it. The only thing keeping her from laughing about it is the realization of how cute Lexa looks when she blushes.  Before she realizes what she’s doing, her hand is on one of Lexa’s pink cheeks, cupping her face.

The blush doesn’t leave Lexa’s cheek, but it’s almost as if Clarke’s touch has sobered her up, brought her back to reality. She’s still flustered and nervous, her voice shaky when she whispers Clarke’s name in warning.

Clarke ignores the warning, because she’s waited so long for this. There’s no point in denying themselves this if they’ve already become attached to one another. If things were different, and the feelings weren’t mutual, Clarke might second guess her actions. But they’ve already developed feelings for each other, and denying themselves a real relationship is just foolish. It won’t save them from any pain if something were to happen to one of them; it would only leave them with regrets for not acting on their emotions when they had the chance.

So Clarke kisses her softly at first, testing the waters because she knows Lexa might still pull away, despite their feelings and the fact that they should have acted on this a long time ago. Her lips are soft and meld to Clarke’s like the puzzle pieces they are. It’s not what anyone would expect looking at the Commander, with her clenched jaw and rigid armor she carries on bony shoulders, but it’s the only thing Clarke needs.

Neither one of them can help themselves as the kiss grows more desperate. They have lost time to make up for, time they’ve wasted being ungrateful and hardheaded. It’s not until their lungs start to burn that they pull away, but their bodies remain close. Clarke isn’t sure if she’ll ever be able to be away from Lexa again after this.

\--

As if their relationship wasn’t nearly common knowledge among their people before, everyone seems to silently recognize it after their kiss. Nothing is said, but it doesn’t take long for those close to them to notice the slightly more affectionate nature of the two. Once that happens, the rumors spread like wildfire until all of the Grounders and all of the Sky People accept the relationship.

It’s the first time since the alliance was formed that their people aren’t on edge with one another. The union that the pair has made together seems to tie their people together as well. Where the cultural differences once got in the way, they now help to bring them closer together, with each Grounder learning from the Sky People’s ways, and each of the Sky People learning from the Grounders’ ways.

Abby eventually comes to her, once the rumors have died down and their people have begun to become one. She’s one of the few who are still nervous about the alliance—it’s really only the older, more conservative members of their people who are. It’s only when Clarke reveals to her that she found her soulmate that Abby comes to accept the relationship, and in turn the Grounders.

Maybe it’s because she knows that she’s stuck with Lexa for the rest of Clarke’s life now, or maybe she’s truly happy that Clarke found something that is so rare these days, but Clarke is happy to have her mother’s approval over something for once. Clarke hopes it’s the latter, though, because if she didn’t know how rare and precious soulmates were before this, she definitely knows now. They got off to a rocky start, and there were times that Clarke thought it might have been a waste, but it’s only made her appreciate the bond even more now.

She can’t believe she once thought Lexa had a cold heart. It’s taken her a long time, but she’s discovered that Lexa can laugh like a child, but has much more patience than one, which cannot be said for a lot of Grounders. She’s discovered how merciful and caring she is, and how all of these things not only make her a wonderful commander, but also the perfect other half to Clarke.

Surviving is important, and Lexa was born for the role of the commander, Clarke has no doubt about that. But Clarke also believes that Lexa was born to be hers, and she was born to be Lexa’s. Life can’t be all about surviving; if it were, there would be nothing to live for.

**Author's Note:**

> hmu on tumblr at laurenzayns if you want


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